


All Eyes on You

by Implosion



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beta Read, Etho's Apparent Teleporting Ability, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Non-Linear Narrative
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24599956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Implosion/pseuds/Implosion
Summary: “How do you do it?” Beef asks him. It’s not the first time he’s asked this question, and he doubts that it’ll be the last. "You just like- appear in places sometimes."-Or, five times various Hermits have wondered something about Etho.
Relationships: Ethoslab & Cubfan135, Ethoslab & Keralis, Ethoslab & VintageBeef
Comments: 46
Kudos: 240





	1. VintageBeef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beef and Etho have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very much inspired by Grian and Etho's stand-off in the Cowmerical district. I've been working on it in my free time while hammering out another fic that I can't wait to post. (Hint: It involves spooks and crystals) I hope y'all enjoy! 
> 
> Huge thanks to my friends (you guys are great) for helping me with punctuation and like, encouraging me to keep writing. Especially Will, who really helped me fine-tune Beef's bit. This wouldn't exist without ya!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“How do you do it?” Beef asks him. It’s not the first time he’s asked this question, and he doubts that it’ll be the last. He’s hovering near the entrance to the pit beneath Little Etho’s, essentially twiddling his thumbs while Etho works on the song for the music box. 

In other words, he’s really bored. 

Etho glances over to him, noteblock in hand. “Do what?” He asks. 

“You know,” Beef says, gesturing with his hands. Etho squints at him. He gestures some more, the motion growing wilder and more spirited while Etho looks increasingly bemused. “Fwoop?” He suggests weakly. “The teleporting thing! You know!”

Etho chuckles, “Forgotten about enderpearls in your old age?” He teases with a grin, before turning around to place the block..

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Beef huffs. “You just like- appear in places. It freaks me out, man.” He watches him punch the noteblock experimentally, frown at the sharp twang hovering in the air, before hitting the block again. 

Beef winces at the sound, like a ghast set to scream. “My ears are bleeding,” He comments drily, “Maybe we should renegotiate your paycheck.”

“I’m getting paid for this? That’s news to me,” Etho says. He squints down at the array of redstone, before tipping his head back to give Beef a dubious once-over. “Your bleeding ears blend right in with the bloody apron.”

“Hey!” Beef squawks, “I thought we agreed not to talk about that!” 

“That was more implied,” says Etho, smiling beneath the mask, “Like the teleporting thing.” He’s back to fine-tuning the noteblocks now, though Beef notices that he has yet to pluck a recognizable tune from the mess. He seems to only be hitting the high notes, the ones always guaranteed to draw a wince from Beef at their screechiness. 

“Aha! So you admit that there’s a teleporting thing!” To be honest, this was the closest thing to an admission that he’s wrung out of Etho in years. “You can teleport, can’t you?”

“Oh, does this mean we’re talking about the apron now?” Etho retorts, “C’mon Beefers, I’m dying to know why it’s always bloody.”

Beef blanches. “You know what, forget I asked,” He says, hopping down into the pit and marching over to Etho, who still hasn’t gotten the pitch right, but seems to smirk everytime Beef winces. And this guy was a self-proclaimed noteblock master? “Alright Wise Guy, clearly you need a little refresher in composing,”

“Which you’ve never done before in your life-”

“Which I’ve played around with once or twice,” corrects Beef, “And will manage to make something that’s better than-” He waves a hand at the mess, “...This. So, step back and watch the redstone master work,” Beef says as he cracks his knuckles.

Etho quirks his lips into a smile, “Oh great one,” He drawls, saluting Beef as he takes a step backwards. “Please shower me with your wisdom.” 

“Oh, you’ll learn something alright,” Beef mutters under his breath. He rolls up his sleeves and gets to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Afterward: Beef sweats over the note blocks for thirty minutes before Etho steps in and finishes up in record time.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I absolutely love to read comments and hear what y'all think, they really inspire me to keep writing, so if you have any thoughts feel free to write 'em!
> 
> Next part should be up soon. (Which for me means in like a month, although I’m aiming for a week - I'm so sorry.) It's really nice to be writing again, and I hope to be posting more fics now that it's summer. Have a great evening!
> 
> Title taken from “All Eyes on You” by Smash into Pieces.


	2. Cubfan135

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A unusual encounter in the Cowmercial District.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while, huh? Here's part 2 of All Eyes on You! Enjoy!
> 
> Huge shout out again to Will, who proof-read and fine-tuned, and honestly bud, you're great, thanks for reading my fanfic.

The portal purple shimmers around him, before the world spins. Cub’s first step into the shopping district is wobbly and unfocused, as nausea rolls in his stomach. “Ufh,” He mutters to himself, clutching his stomach and staggering forward, “Never did like that part.”

Shielding his eyes from the bright light of the sun to give them time to adjust, Cub turns to survey the Cowmercial district. It’s quiet, something he’s come to expect from the early morning hours, when the only ones awake are the early birds and Joe, who isn’t so much an early bird, but someone who never went to bed at all.

There’s not a speck of dust out of place. The roads are still uneven, there’s mycelium everywhere, and Etho, hovering around the polls. Cub nearly does a double-take, stomach problems forgotten as he turns back around.

To say he’s surprised to see Etho is evident. Etho was something of a living shadow, at least to him. He ran with different crowds, lived in a different area. Outside of the occasional big event, they had never interacted much, though Cub respected his touch with redstone. To say Etho had a hand in revolutionizing the scene would be an understatement.

“Morning, Etho,” Cub raises his hand in a wave. Etho looks up and nods back, though he seems fairly engrossed in flipping though the book resting on the lectern. Cub makes his way over. “Thought of any candidates you’d like to show support for yet?”

Etho quirks his lips up into a smile. “Morning,” He says, before tipping his head to the side. “You could say that.”

Cub waits for him to continue. He doesn’t, leaving him to flounder. “Doc?” He guesses. Years of friendship behind them, and although it was worlds ago, Cub still remembered how formidable the NHO alliance was. He almost smiles at the memory, before sobering up at the thought of how it ended.

Etho chuckles, “Nah, I know him too well for that.” He tilts his head towards the stations, “Great job with the stations, they look great.”

“Thanks,” Cub says, before changing topics, “You’re up early. Running errands in the Cowmercial District?”

“Checking shops,” says Etho, “You know how it is.” He looks down at his wrist and exclaims, “Oh gee, it’s getting late. I better get to it.”

“You’re not wearing a watch,” Cub says drily.

Etho shrugs, meandering over to Doc’s station. Hands in his pockets, he tips his head back back, studying the impression of Doc’s face carved into the wall with a stoic expression. Something like old guilt swims behind his eyes, a haunted, too-regretful look that Cub can’t bear to examine for more than a moment so he turns away, finding the architecture of the town hall suddenly fascinating.

He’s so focused on the intricate details of the vaulted ceiling, that he doesn’t register the soft warning of footsteps, only the heavy thump that follows.

Looking back, he has just enough time to glimpse a shock of white hair just barely sticking out over the rim of the pit voters were supposed to drop concrete powder into, before his brain kicks itself into high gear. Apprehension prickles down his spine like needles, because master or not, Cub’s protective of his redstone. “Hey,” He starts, jogging over, “Be careful-”

He peers over the edge of the pit and his thoughts stutter to an abrupt stop, as the realization dawns on him that the hole is empty. After a second’s hesitation, Cub lowers himself down into it, but even when he’s on his knees, peering into the crawlspace that contains the wiring, it’s clear that Cub is alone.

How? He isn’t quite sure, because Etho hadn’t thrown a pearl or used a rocket. He supposes that it’s just something that he’ll just have to ask him when their paths next cross. Whenever that would be.

When he hauls himself out of the pit, he glances around, but the Cowmercial District is quiet once again. Cub sighs and resigns himself to composing hypotheses with his thoughts, before adding a vote of support to Scar’s, Doc’s, and Joe’s polls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Next part should be up soon," says past me. So, that was a lie. It's been a month, and I am so sorry! Fun fact, part 2 was originally supposed to be Keralis, but I had some major WB writing for him, so I uh, procrastinated, among things, oops? (I also moved, so there's that too, haha. Lots of things happening.)
> 
> To make up for it, Chapter 3 will be posted on Wednesday the 30th, and it'll be a biggie. Thank you all for sticking by me!  
> Edit: The chapter took longer than expected, so it'll be up on the 31st instead!  
> If you spot any errors or have thoughts, please let me know in the comments! I was so overwhelmed and grateful for all the support Chapter 1 got, reading everyone's comments made me grin so much. I can't thank y'all enough. Thank you so much for reading.


	3. Keralis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out, there's consequences for blowing up your neighbor's mountain. Keralis learns them the hard way, but a question arises in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'd like to apologize for getting this chapter out later than expected. It's the largest one yet (more than double the size of the other 2 chapters combined!), so I hopes that makes up for it!
> 
> Shout out to my friends, Mel and Scott, who both helped beta-read. And a special thanks to Will, for not only proofreading but helping out with the story. You're awesome guys!

The anvil lands a hair’s breadth away from his face. Keralis squawks, pin-wheeling backwards, right as a second anvil slams into the pavement where he had just been standing. “Now I know I have a magnetic personality, but this is too close.”

“What the… what?” Tango mutters off to his left, his shell-shocked look mirroring Keralis’ own. 

Keralis looks upwards, squints at the crane towering over the pit, and looks for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing stands out. “Can you see anyone on the crane?” He asks.

Tango tips his head back and scans the morning sky with his red eyes, before shaking his head, “Nothing on the crane, K-Man, but maybe-” He drawls off when fireworks ignite above their heads, reaching for his sword on instinct as a flurry of sparks rain down onto them. Stray sparks pop and singe the area, leaving faint spots on the ground.

Keralis raises his bow just in time to block, right as the sword materializes in front of him. The blow cuts deep into the riser of his bow, sending splinters flying, but he grits his teeth and holds his ground. Behind his invisible assailant, he sees a flash of red as Tango vaults over a pile of rubble and rushes towards him.

But the distraction costs him as an invisible leg sweeps beneath his feet and knocks him off-balance. Keralis shrieks as his bow is smacked from his hands while the world whirls around him, until up and down are interchangeable concepts. The impact against the ground is jarring, stealing the air from his lungs and sending pain lacing up his spine when he lands on his back with an audible crunch. His vision clouds over with shadows for a moment, and when he can finally make sense of the world again, the sword is hovering over his heart.

“For the Goat!” His assailant cries out. Keralis can’t help but suppress the fear that tickles his neck upon hearing that voice, as he finally realizes who’s standing before him. 

“Double whatever he paid you,” Keralis wheezes, scrabbling to sit up, “Let’s make a deal, Slab Boy!”

The sword never wavers. “He paid in Goat,” says Etho.

He considers this. “Oh,” He says, deciding that he doesn't want to know what it means, “You know what, keep it.” 

Keralis winces, steeling himself for the cold sting of diamond between his ribs, and watches the blade as it’s drawn back, and abruptly disappears into a flurry of limbs as Tango tackles him.

“I’ve got him!” Tango shouts, as he rolls across the pit with Etho, grappling for the upperhand. Keralis takes advantage of the distraction. He scoots backwards as quickly as he can, putting a couple of blocks between him and the fight, before fishing through his pockets for food.

The sound of blades clashing draws his attention back to the fight. Though it’s been seconds since Keralis had looked away, Etho had already drawn blood, a sleek scratch across Tango’s cheek. Parrying Etho’s next strike, Tango attempted a feint to the right, but was quickly deflected. The two exchange blows for a few more breaths, a flurry of strikes that make it hard to tell who has the upper hand when Etho’s glowing blade is abruptly sheathed.

Keralis watches wide-eyed as Tango’s next swing chops through empty air, slicing through the space that had been Etho’s center of mass only moments before. He listens for footsteps, tries to see if any dust is kicked up by Etho fleeing, but nothing stands out. Tango glances around, swinging wildly, before his face falls, “I ..don’t got him?” His sword cuts through the air again, “Where did he go? Did you hear him run?”

He shakes his head. “He didn’t pearl out either,” Keralis says, biting into a golden carrot. Within seconds, any hint of pain has faded to a dull ache, before disappearing entirely. “I would have seen it.”

“Why’s he after you anyways, K-Man?” Tango asks, “He uh- seems pretty insistent about doing the choppy choppy.” He glances around again, hands curled around the hilt of his sword, as if expecting a strike at any moment. His head is tilted to the side and Keralis follows suit - both listening for the telltale sign of footfalls, although none came.

Keralis winces. “Welllll,” He drawls, finishing off the last of his carrot, “You know Doc’s mountain?” 

“Heard it explodificated, so I flew by it to see for myself.” Tango grins, “That face? So good.”

He chuckles despite himself, “Yeah, we fixed it up pretty good but, well...” Keralis gestures around wildly, “Mayyyyyybe he’s still a little mad.” He pats down his pockets for a potion, before holding a healing pot out to Tango. 

Accepting it with a grateful nod, Tango knocks it back in a single motion. The scratch on his face steams, before closing into a white line that quickly fades, until it's as if there was never a wound at all. “Ahhh, that hit the spot. Thanks.”

“The least I can do,” says Keralis, pulling off his helmet so that he can drag his fingers through his hair, “Since I pulled you into this and all.”

“Yeeeeeeah,” Tango mumbles, “About that.” Keralis glances back to see him putting away his weapon and fumbling with the straps of his elytra. He meets Keralis’ gaze, offers a sharp grin, before shrugging apologetically, “Faced Etho down in the Arena, I think I’ll sit this one out. Sorry K-Man.”

“No-no, I understand.”

Tango grins again, and they both pretend that it reaches his eyes. “Good luck.”

“Ehehehe, I’ll need it,” says Keralis, as he checks the straps of his armour, pulling them tighter to secure them. “Thanks.”

Tango taps his communicator meaningfully, “Let me know when we can talk again.” He takes a running start before snapping out his elytra and taking to the sky, leaving nothing but a thin trail of smoke that’s blown away by the wind.

Keralis swallows nervously before turning back to observe his construction site. It's quiet, aside from the soft buzz of machinery and the quiet chatter of his workers in the distance. He fit his helmet back to his head, before pulling out his sword, which he holds it out in front of him as he carefully makes his way over to where his bow had been flung. He picks it up, observing the gouge caused by Etho's blade. He briefly considers what could have happened had the blade hit him instead and hurriedly shoves it into his inventory with a shudder.

His hands shake and his legs feel like jelly, but he climbs out of the pit with no interruption, unease building with every step he takes. Keralis makes his way back to his house slowly, hyper aware of every sound smothering the area, of every chirp and buzz carried by the wind. Of soft footsteps, crunching against the soil.

Keralis swings around, blade ready to strike, only to relax his guard as a familiar pair of yellow eyes glint up at him from the shadows of a construction vehicle. He grins despite the tense atmosphere, tucking his sword away as he beckons to the cat, “Here kitty,” he croons, “Meoooow, bggrrrr, mee-ow.” 

She slides out from beneath the machine, a skinny brown and white thing, almost reminiscent of Jellie in terms of pattern. Strays were a common sight around the construction area, drawn in by the prospect of scraps and places to hide. Keralis pets her for a minute, scratching her beneath the chin. “What’s your name, sweetface, do you have one?”

She mrrups, butting her head against his palm, and he laughs, the tension leaking from his shoulders. “I’ll take that as a no,” He chuckles, grabbing his sword as he gets to his feet. 

Abruptly, the cat freezes up before turning tail and fleeing, which the only warning he gets before hot breath ghosts his neck, and someone whispers, “Boo!” 

Keralis shrieks in surprise and summons his shield.

Ten minutes later, and he’s not losing, exactly, but he’s not winning either. Fighting Etho was like fighting a force of nature itself, a maelstrom in the wild. He slips out of the way of Keralis’ strikes with apparent ease, leaving him to flounder against the current. 

He’s almost too fast for Keralis to keep up with, flickering around his vision like a mirage. He’ll swipe at Etho only to cut through empty space. How does he do it? Keralis thinks, as Etho bounces behind him and nicks his arm, How does he move so fast?

It’s not potions, that’s for sure - they’ve been fighting for too long; a potion would have worn off by now. 

Keralis lets out a yelp as Etho dances dangerously close, his blade glowing blue beneath the sunlight. The sword only glances off his shield, he can still feel the impact behind the hit. 

“Etho, buddy!” He squeaks, “Let’s talk about this, why don’t we- oh nonononono,” The blade just barely misses his jugular, shaving off a bit of his beard in the process. “Not fair!” Keralis calls out, as he jerks backwards, before feeling the patch that’d been left in its wake. An uneven beard, what a low blow!

Etho lunges forward in lieu of a response and Keralis falters, the unrelenting intent in Etho’s eyes freezing his feet to the concrete. Nononono, He chants in his head, a cool numbness washing over him as his hand moves on it’s own accord, whacking Etho with his shield so hard that it splits into pieces.

He stumbles back, stunned for a moment by the blow, but a moment is all Keralis needs. He rifles through his inventory and brings up his elytra, exchanging it for his chestplate. By the time Etho’s recovered, Keralis has rockets in his hand and victory singing in his veins as he soars into the sky. 

“Come at me, Slab Boy!” Keralis calls down as he rides the current away from the construction site. “Can’t touch this!” 

Something whistles in the wind, growing louder with each second that passes. He banks to the right at the last moment, euphoria fading as an arrow whizzes past his head, needlepoint wreathed in flames. It’s a near miss, and he’s lucky; had he not veered right at the last moment, it would have hit him.

But lady luck is not on his side tonight, as a second arrow soars up and finds its mark - not his head, but the delicate skin of his elytra. For all that elytra could do, bringing flight to the flightless, letting the Hermits skim the skies, it was not an infallible thing.

For while elytra were easily mended, they were just as easily broken.

The arrow pierces the thin material of his wings, and tears through. It’s a small tear at first, no larger than his pinkie, no wider than a reel of string, but quickly unravels as it’s battered by the wind howling around him.

His easy glide falters once, twice, and then Keralis drops like a stone, his startled scream swallowed up by the wind.

He lands in the lake with a mammoth of a splash. The water suckers onto his heavy armour greedily, helped by the panic edging his mind as he splashes around. He sinks down further, passing the sea-grass and the seaweed, until the overworld is nothing but a spot of light above him before it occurs to Keralis that he can breathe fine.

Oh, he thinks, registering the shimmering bubble covering the open face of his helmet. Right. Respiration enchantment. 

Changing out his broken elytra for his chestplate, he starts swimming up towards the surface, before a shadow breaks through the ripples with a muted splash. A shimmering blue shape paddles towards him, and Keralis can just barely make out the shape of a bow with it's string drawn back, arrow nocked and ready. The arrow skims past him and dips, cutting through the water as if through molasses.

Despite himself, Keralis chuckles, knocking the next arrow out of the way with his sword. We’re like two idiots, He thinks, as Etho advances. How can I win?

In the end, he doesn’t win, but neither does Etho, as they wash ashore VintageKebab’s beach in bruised armor and with low spirits.

The tide spits them out like unwanted shells, heaving them onto the sand with characteristic carelessness. Keralis, wheezing and tired, weighed down by soggy armour and a sword on the verge of shattering. When he rolls over, his joints creak in protest, and it takes an effort to finally sit up. “Owwwwww,” Keralis groans, “My bones.”

Over the lapping waves, he can distinctly hear Etho coughing up seawater. Keralis flicks a lump of soggy bangs away from his eyes, blinking at him. Etho’s gaze seems to sharpen when he looks at Keralis, causing him to tense up, wondering if the other man was thinking about drawing his sword. 

The ceasefire between them was a tentative one; it would be as easy to shatter as it would be a block of glass.

“You’re... tough… to kill...” Etho gasps, pulling himself into a sitting position. He pulls off his helmet, sputtering as a waterfall of seawater cascades down, “How good is your armour anyways?”

Keralis relaxes, snickering at the sight. Tentative or not, the ceasefire seemed to be holding. “Enchanted with the finest books Lookie Lookie at my Bookie provides. It’s good, no?”

“Pretty good,” Etho says, “I nearly broke my sword trying to get to you.”

“Good enough to pay you off?” Keralis presses. He crosses his fingers behind his back.

Etho quiets for a moment, mulling over the proposition. Moving as slow as molasses, he holds out a hand, and cracks a grin, “What Doc doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” 

Keralis takes his hand, but he doesn’t shake - not yet. “Ten books,” He says, “Ten books and a question.”

Etho quirks an eyebrow, “What’s the question?”

“Take the deal and you’ll find out,” Keralis promises. He widens his eyes, putting on his best innocent look, “Look into my eyes, nothing but my eyes; would I ask you for your deepest darkest secret?”

“Yes,” says Etho, without missing a beat.

“Noooooo,” Keralis drawls, “I wouldn’t.” Seeing Etho's skeptical expression, he amends, “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

He doesn't think Etho believes him, but after a long sigh, he shakes, “Alright, alright. What’s your question?”

“You’re really quick, huh?” He says.

“Mhm?” Etho hums noncommittally.

“My question is - how do you do it?” Keralis says, “What’s your secret?”

“No secret,” Etho answers quickly, looking down for a moment. He’s smiling when he looks up again, the easy grin of a charlatan, “I’m just a professional.” He hauls himself to his feet before Keralis has a chance to question him further, adding, “Anyways, that’s two questions, technically, so I only have to answer the first truthfully.”

He looks down at him, and offers a hand. Keralis snags it and pulls himself to his feet. “How do I do it?” Etho asks enigmatically, before shrugging and scratching his chin, “Hmmm, I suppose you could say it’s an innate ability of mine.” He grins again, and Keralis can’t help but liken his smile to that of the cheshire cat’s.

“So does that answer your question?” Etho adds.

“Absolutely not,” Keralis admits, “Buuuuuut, it's the truth?” 

“It is.” Etho says, mischief sparking his eyes, "Good enough for you?"

“Hmm, I guess,” He says, patting Etho on the shoulder as he walks past, heading back to his construction site, “C’mon, let’s get you some books, Slab Boy. Your choice.”

“Awwwwwh yeah,” Etho cheers softly under his breath behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keralis was pretty hard for me to write, but I hope his voice was recognizable! Fight scenes and dialogue generally aren't my strong suit, but I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Next chapter doesn't have a deadline, but I'm aiming for mid-August. Thank you all for reading; if you spot any errors, feel free to let me know. Comments really make my day!


End file.
